2009.07.03
Quote of the day: Thomas Jefferson on banks and currency
Thomas Jefferson / Wiki Commons
"If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."
Thomas Jefferson (1743-1846) was a founding father of the United States of America, a governor of Virginia, an inventor, a philosopher, a farmer, a slave owner and the founder of the University of Virgina. And many other things. Interestingly, Jefferson was selected as the nation's third president by the House of Representatives after the Electoral College deadlocked between Jefferson and Aaron Burr. It took the House 36 ballots to decide between the two; Alexander Hamilton, who hated Burr, is credited with breaking the deadlock in Congress.
Wow, is there no end to this fellows smarts about government and business?
Comment by Sandi Saunders — July 3, 2009 @ 1:40 pm
Apparently Jefferson had a dislike for newspapers. Among some quotes I found:
"Advertisements contain the only truths to be relied on in a newspaper."
And one of my favorite Jefferson quotes:
"Educate and inform the whole mass of the people... They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty. "
Comment by Ed S. — July 3, 2009 @ 3:48 pm
Those are good ones, Ed!
Comment by Dan Casey — July 3, 2009 @ 3:57 pm
Maybe, Ed S: But I think he had more respect that you credit:
"The basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter. But I should mean that every man should receive those papers and be capable of reading them.
-- Thomas Jefferson, letter to Edward Carrington, 1787.
Comment by Sandi Saunders — July 3, 2009 @ 4:18 pm
He may have, Sandi. I just breezed through Brainy Quote to see what they had for Jefferson quotes, and I saw two or three where he was quite strong in his dislike of newspapers. Of course, I can't verify the quotes listed on the site.
Comment by Ed S. — July 3, 2009 @ 10:15 pm